Division’s name changed to Brand Partners

Brand Partners logo

RBS Insurance (RBSI) is renaming its affinity business Brand Partners as part of its group rebranding exercise.

The division, formerly known as UKI Partnerships and currently named RBS Insurance Partnerships, houses the business written through RBSI’s sales relationships with big brands such as Sainsbury’s Finance, Natwest, Royal Bank of Scotland, Nationwide and Prudential.

The renaming of the affinity business  is part of a rebrand of the RBSI group in preparation for its pending split from its parent, the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS).

As revealed by Insurance Times last week, the group has been renamed Direct Line Insurance Group and has converted to a public limited company from a private entity.

The group also has a new logo to replace the current RBS branding.

However, with the exception of the affinity business, the individual brands within RBSI will remain unchanged. These include direct insurers Direct Line, Churchill, Privilege and Green Flag, as well as broker-only commercial underwriter NIG.

Commenting on the group rebranding, RBSI chief executive Paul Geddes said: “This is an important, symbolic step for the group as we move towards having a distinct identity ahead of the planned divestment from RBS Group.”

Under the conditions of its government bail-out in 2008, RBS has to relinquish its controlling stake in RBSI by the end of 2013 and sell all interests in the insurer by the end of 2014.

While RBS is pursuing a flotation in tandem with a trade sale, many observers believe a stock market listing is the most likely route.